While just under 8 percent of Americans move each year, planning for a long-distance relocation can feel overwhelming when you are in that 8 percent. Moving requires you to identify a cost-effective moving company, sort through your possessions, transfer utilities, and figure out how to move your car or cars across the country.
While some people drive their cars across the country, most rely on vehicle transportation specialists for their vehicle moves. Others use national moving companies that now include vehicle transportation in the services. They promise a single point of contact, coordinated deliveries, and a simpler moving experience.
Of course, that convenience doesn't come cheap, so bundled moving car and furniture services may not be the best fit for every situation. Let’s review the companies that combine these services, how they work, and the trade-offs involved.
How the Car and Furniture Mover Model Works
Household moving companies specialize in packing, loading, and transporting household possessions, while auto transport companies use open or enclosed car carriers to move vehicles from place to place.
These are distinct operations since moving vans cannot safely haul cars, and car carriers can't hold household goods. So, when a moving company advertises shipping the car and furniture together, it typically means one of two things. They have a:
Dedicated auto transport division under the same corporate umbrella, or
Partnership with a third-party auto transport carrier that handles the vehicle side.
Using either approach, the customer has a single contract for questions and tracking, and, ideally, shipping the car and furniture together means your furniture and car arrive at roughly the same time.
Companies That Offer Both Services
Car and furniture movers that offer to move both your household goods and car are increasingly common and include:
Allied Van Lines is a prominent full-service mover that offers integrated vehicle transportation. Allied transports cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles alongside household goods. It offers open and enclosed transport, the latter used primarily for higher-value or classic vehicles.
North American Van Lines also offers vehicle shipping coordinated with household moves, including open and enclosed auto transport options.
United Van Lines, the nation's largest van line by market share, coordinates vehicle transportation as part of relocation packages, especially for corporate relocation accounts that value bundled services.
Mayzlin Relocation is a newer entrant that follows the direct-carrier model, meaning it owns its trucks. It has developed a strong reputation for coordinating household goods and vehicle shipping with fewer intermediaries, which its customers credit for cleaner communication and fewer delays.
Colonial Van Lines and International Van Lines both facilitate vehicle transport through vetted partner carriers, though they act as the coordinator for the entire move.
PODS, the portable storage container company, doesn't have its own auto transport equipment, but has formalized partnerships with vehicle shipping companies so customers can arrange car shipping through PODS as a single bundled transaction alongside their containerized household move.
The Advantages of Shipping Car and Furniture Together
Shipping your car and furniture through a single provider offers several benefits, including:
Simplified logistics
The clearest benefit comes from managing fewer vendors. Rather than separately hiring a moving company and an auto transport broker, negotiating two sets of dates, and fielding calls from two customer service departments, you work through a single provider.
Synchronized delivery
A frustrating experience in a long-distance move is arriving at your new home to find your furniture there but your car still in transit — or vice versa. When a single company coordinates both shipments, they try to align delivery windows, reducing the limbo period you might experience between move-in and getting fully settled.
Reduced complexity for international moves
One provider shipping your possessions and vehicles internationally helps to simplify customs clearance, reduce port fees, and lessen your administrative burden.
Insurance under one policy
Combining your goods and vehicle under one contract simplifies the claims process. If something goes wrong, you deal with one insurer and adjuster rather than navigating separate claims processes.
The Disadvantages of Shipping Car and Furniture Together
As you might expect, shipping your car and furniture through a single provider also has disadvantages, especially when some promised benefits do not work out. The disadvantages include:
Higher cost
Cost is the most consistent criticism related to bundling household and vehicle shipping. The moving company either runs a separate vehicle division or passes the vehicle work to a partner carrier with a markup, the price for moving a car and furniture through a full-service mover is almost always higher than booking the services separately. Pricing differences of several hundred dollars on cross-country moves are common.
Less specialized expertise on the vehicle side
A company whose core business is household moving lacks the dedicated carrier's auto transport knowledge, leading to fewer vehicle-specific options, less familiarity with shipping classic or luxury cars, and fewer terminal drop-off and pickup locations. When you're moving car and furniture, you want expertise.
Dependency risk
By bundling services, a problem with one side of the move can affect the other. If your household goods are delayed, your vehicle may wait for a coordinated delivery. Separate vendors mean that a delay on one side doesn't necessarily affect the other.
Advance booking requirements
Moving companies that coordinate vehicle transport need four-to-six-week lead times to align the schedules across services. This requirement can affect corporate relocations that have less notice about their moves.
Limited carrier competition
When booking auto transport independently, you have access to many competing quotes. When you book through a moving company, you're accepting their partner carrier at their negotiated rate, and you may not know the carrier’s identity until the move is underway.
Who Should Consider the Bundle?
Combining household and vehicle moves works for those moving long distances who want simplicity and coordinated timelines. Bundling also helps with overseas moves by reducing the customs burden, and for corporate relocatees whose employers cover the costs.
For movers interested in saving money and those whose vehicles require special handling (collector cars, modified vehicles, electric vehicles), the better approach is to handle household goods and the car separately, vetting each vendor on their own merits.
The Bottom Line
Moving companies that ship cars provide a useful service. The coordinated experience eliminates vendor juggling during a stressful time. The trade-off is that you pay a premium for the convenience, and commonly sacrifice expertise regarding vehicle moves.
Before you commit to a bundle, you should obtain a separate auto transport quote to understand how much the convenience will cost. Sometimes the gap is modest, and the simplicity is worth it. Other times, it isn't.
Nexus Auto Transport looks forward to providing a quote for your upcoming auto transport needs.
Household Moving Truck vs. Dedicated Auto Transport
Comparison Criteria | Household Moving Company | Dedicated Auto Transport |
Overall Cost Efficiency | Often more costly | Less expensive than bundling |
Risk of Vehicle Damage | Higher for high-value vehicles | Lower due to auto transport expertise |
Insurance Coverage Type | Released and full value insurance on household; cargo insurance for vehicle | Cargo insurance for vehicle |
Delivery Schedule Flexibility | Need to book earlier; agency tries to coordinate delivery | You coordinate delivery dates |
Carrier Specialization | Household move specialists | Auto transport specialists |
FAQs
How do I coordinate the arrival time of my vehicle with my household movers?
Both household movers and auto transporters often provide multi-day to one-week delivery windows. Your best plan is to book both in advance, and once you have your moving company window, update your target delivery date for the vehicle to the middle of the moving company’s window to maximize the chances of alignment.
What specific damages are covered under a dedicated auto carrier's insurance policy?
Carriers generally maintain cargo insurance that covers all vehicles being transported. (Nexus requires carriers to have $100,000 in cargo insurance). However, the carrier’s coverage may not cover the full value of all the vehicles in the event of a serious accident. Carriers often offer supplemental insurance that you pay for, and your personal policies may cover damage to your car during transport.
Your best practice is to confirm the complimentary and supplemental insurance options through the auto transporter and review them with your insurance agent to determine your best course of action.
Are there hidden brokerage fees when a household moving company subcontracts my car shipment?
When moving a car and furniture, household moving companies generally charge for bundling the services. When a moving company outsources the vehicle move to a carrier, they are effectively acting as a broker but are not required to tell you how much they charge for the service.
For the industry, broker fees tend to hover at 15 to 20% of the carrier’s fee.
How much notice is required to book a dedicated auto transport service for an out-of-state move?
Booking far in advance does not save money or otherwise help in the auto transport industry. The general rule of thumb is to book 2 to 4 weeks in advance of your desired pick-up date. However, you should book several weeks earlier if you are coming from or going to a remote location, during peak seasons (summer and snowbird migrations), or if you plan to use an enclosed carrier, since there are fewer of them on the road.
